Went over earlier this week after visiting some of the Austrians friends (parents met on an immigrant boat from Hamburg to Montreal over 50 yeards ago). Uneventul drive though there was heavy rain and hail/wet snow west of Port Alberni on the trickey part of the highway just after Sproat lake (home of the 2 remaining Martin Mars amphibious planes).

1st visit in over 20 years and noted lots of development. Storm watching wasn't heard of back then.

The Red Crow B&B in Tofino is very nice - jus 2 large rooms facing the water aon the back bay nd a cottage for up to six. Very quiet and located well bacl from the main road. Hot tub hidden among ancient western redcedars - lit at night and great for stargazing. You get sunrise view of the back bay and warmth from the morning sun in the two rooms - king room is best for 2. Canoes/kayaks available to paddle out in the bay. The proprietor really undermarkets his property.

Few restaurants of note but Tough City sushi is good. Raincity (Rainsomething anyway) has very good inspired food. Everything except simple fare is quite pricey though (mains run from low 20s to mid 30s). Not much choice in Ucluelet but the Matheson (sp) House is very good and cheap.

Half Moon Bay had the best breakers but quite a hike. The other beaches were a bit disappointing by contrast. High surf and winds make walking on a beach deadly (literally) at high tide, or even off high tide due to surges.

Pacific Rim National Park is 1/2 closed during the winter season (sometime in October to sometime in March) so no user fees but the visitor's centre and the sole remaining campground are closed.

The Coombs store (between Nanaimo and Port Alberni - it's off the main highway now since the new Island highway was completed) is closed for renovations so no goats on the roof.

Note: Most Island wineries can be safely avoided, it is sad to say. Venturi Schulze is said to have good wines but very pricey ($45 for one of their premium reds). They want CAD 65 for a 200-odd ml bottle of their balsamic vinegar!

Fairburn farms has a water buffalo herd and plans to make real mozzarella cheese when the herd is sufficiently large.

The pub at the foot of Argyle Street in Port Alberni has excellent food and is very reasonable. Far exceeded expectations.

[This message has been edited by terenz (edited Feb 23, 2004).]